The Showcase of Talent celebrated its fourth anniversary Friday before a packed house at La Hacienda Recreation Center. Phil Caltabelotta knows why the show – created by Diana and Joe Arlt – is so successful.
“Everybody in The Villages thinks they’re a star and this gives them the chance to go on stage and prove it,” said the harmonica master who performed in a duet with his wife, Valerie. They played “Spanish Eyes” on dual harmonicas.
“The Villages is a place where people want to make their dreams come true,” Phil said. “This show is all part of it.”
At least it was for Tom Murphy.
Murphy, 77, spent most of his life working for the CIA. Before he got in the cloak and dagger business, Murphy liked to sing.
He hadn’t been on stage in about five decades, but there he was Friday, sporting a Frank Sinatra-Fedora hat on his head, along with a slick, sky-blue blazer and dark slacks.
Murphy looked like a lost member of the Rat Pack as he turned in a tender performance of Sinatra’s melancholy, “It Was A Very Good Year.”
It was hot up on stage, but Murphy kept his cool.
“I wasn’t nervous,” he said. “That song tells a story and it reminds me of my life.”
Grabbing a microphone is more fun than playing Spy vs. Spy.
“After the CIA, everything is easy,” said Murphy, who has published two spy novels. “For me, singing is fun.”
That’s part of the reason Diane and Joe Arlt started the monthly Showcase of Talent four years ago. In that time, Diana said, they have put on nearly 44 shows, featuring nearly 650 acts.
Most of the shows are sell outs – drawing around 400 people Diana said – and the Arlts have raised over $35,000 for charity. They donate money for young performers. The charities are: The Bob Washington Jazz Fund and the Young Performing Artists of Wildwood.
“That’s the best part of what we do – helping young people who have talent and want to perform,” Diana Arlt said.
But the Showcase of Talent also affords opportunities for Villagers.
“We want to give new talent a chance to be seen,” Diana said. “Many people in The Villages used to sing or perform when they were younger. They’d like to try it again, and we give them that chance.”
Friday’s show featured a variety of acts and musical styles.
The Villages Pops Chorus, directed by Bill Davis, opened with a rousing “You’re The One That I Want,” from the movie, “Grease.” The Chorus will perform a “Hooray for Hollywood” concert July 31, at 3 and 6 p.m. in the North Lake Presbyterian Church. The concert will feature famous movie songs.
Like “Hello, Dolly!” George Pieper gave a lively rendition of the number with help from Phil Caltabelotta on harmonica.
The show was labeled, “60s and ‘70s Sizzle,” and featured the pop tunes of that era.
James Berryman sang “That’s Life,” while Theresa Kress added spice to “Groovy Kind of Love.” Joe Leoni sang another radio favorite, “Don’t You Care” while Joe Di Leo brought out Motown’s: “My Girl.” John Manion made like Bobby Vinton with a stirring “There I’ve Said It Again.”
Diana Arlt hit all the right notes on “The Way We Were.” Jan Lavin teamed up with Arlt on one of the highlights of the evening as they sang “Happy Days/Get Happy.” They were paying tribute to the famed ‘60s’ duet of those songs by Judy Garland and a youthful Barbra Streisand.
Dancing was also part of the program as Lynne Albers and the Off Broadway Dancers heated things up with “Do You Love Me.”
The Original Villages Belly Dancers closed the show in hip-shaking style moving and grooving to “Car Wash” and “Come A Little Bit Closer.”
